Support Saturday – Let’s Get Infected

“If you haven’t any charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble.” ~ Bob Hope

My husband and I need a new car battery.

I know this because twice, in the past three days, he has absent mindedly left the headlights on when running errands and drained it.

Luckily, both times it happened, he was in a safe, public place. And of course, the good Samaritans of Los Angeles driving in and out of the grocery store and the gas station tripped all over themselves to help him, right?

Nope. Like a pitiful episode of ABC’s What Would You Do? with John Quinones, folks ignored or straight up told my husband ‘no’ — even as he was holding the jumper cables!

Now, I know it’s Christmas and there are a lot of thieving scam artists out there. But really? It took over an hour before anyone would help him. And as anyone who has ever given or received a jump knows, that “help” took all of two minutes.

Yes, I’m sensitive, because this is my Boo. But you gotta admit, it does illustrate a larger problem — We are a nation of apathetic, insensitive, impatient haters.

In such a hurry to get where we’re going and refusing to walk in each others shoes,  we won’t let other cars in when we’re driving, won’t offer to let someone with one item get ahead of us in the grocery store line or won’t bother to even ask a woman sick on her knees in the middle of an airport hallway if she needs help. (True story, Fam. This happened to me.)

I sound bitter. I know. That wasn’t my intention when I sat down to write. In fact, I had a whole ‘nother topic in mind. But one of Charlie Brown’s many Christmas specials was playing on the television when my husband called to share his dilemma and like a Baptist preacher who throws his notes away when he steps into the pulpit, I got inspired.

Feeding the homeless or donating a doll to Toys for Tots is cool for Christmas. But, Fam, how about, we take the lead of this Liberty Mutual commercial and show kindness to each other throughout the whole year?

Your fellow man needs to merge in ahead of you on the freeway? Lay off the horn. Wave him in.

A woman waiting in line behind you at the department store only has one pair of panty hose while you – arms full – are buying a whole new work wardrobe? Seriously? Let her check out before you. It’s not gonna kill you.

Or you pull into a parking spot next to a man at — I don’t know, let’s just say Ralphs — and all he needs is a jump. Give him one.

Fam, we don’t have to wait until Christmas to love on one another.

Random acts of kindness  are contagious.

Let’s get infected. 

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